A few glasses consumed over the past few nights. Very casual drinking; vintages mostly, shamefully, not observed. The best of them was a small pour of Crawford River Nektar. I wouldn’t call this wine elegant, but it’s fascinating for its structure and flavour profile nonetheless. Opulent and perfumed on entry, it proceeds down a sweet path before a range of crystalline flavours fan out through the middle palate. It then turns wonderfully dry, flinty almost, and quite textured through the after palate and finish. Very refreshing, complex and flavoursome, and quite excellent with tiramisu.
By contrast, a glass of the Dal Zotto Arneis seemeda bit tired. Still crunchy and relatively crisp thanks to some bouncy acidity, the flavour profile nonetheless came across as ever so slightly oxidised. Perhaps the bottle had been sitting out a while. There was enough here, though, to suggest a pleasant, full-flavoured white in the right circumstances.
From Gippsland comes the 2008 Narkoojee Pinot Noir. Pinot’s one of those varietals that, to my taste, doesn’t wear a confectionary flavour profile well, seeming to cheapen quickly. This treads a fine line, with a robust, quite characterful entry turning to simpler, rounder boiled lollies through the mid-palate, though it retains a pleasant rusticity to the end. There’s enough complexity here to sustain some interest but, unlike a few years ago, my expectations at this price point ($20 retail) have risen to desire a level of finesse not present here.